“I’m honored to nominate these outstanding young men and women to our United States Service Academies. They each exhibit exceptional academic skills and character, and demonstrate a commitment to serving our country.

“These academies provide students unique educational and leadership development opportunities and I wish our nominees the best of luck in receiving an offer of appointment.”

Joseph Lee, Auburn, Auburn Senior High School
Nick Rollolazo, Federal Way, Federal Way Senior High SchoolIsaac Wani, Federal Way, Federal Way Senior High School
Billie Rae Edwards, Lakewood, Lakes High School
McKall Turk, Olympia, Pierce College
Jennifer Ashmore, Puyallup, Puyallup Senior High School
Courtney Lee, Puyallup, Puyallup Senior High School
Zach Eberl, Olympia, River Ridge High School (Graduate), University of Washington
Greg Herschberger, Lacey, River Ridge High School
Breanna Ziccarelli, Auburn, Thomas Jefferson High School

United States Merchant Marine Academy

Isaac Wani, Federal Way, Federal Way Senior High School
Jennifer Ashmore, Puyallup, Puyallup Senior High School

January5,2012

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith made the following statement regarding the strategic review released by the Department of Defense:

“Today’s announcement marks the conclusion of an important strategic analysis of the threats our country faces today, as well as in the future and how we can best address those threats moving forward. It represents a synopsis of the global threat environment, and presents a broad strategy to address those threats.

“This review comes at an important time. Congress has been engaged in an ongoing debate about how best to meet the spending reductions stipulated in the bipartisan Budget Control Agreement without undermining our national security objectives. I have consistently said that we can rationally evaluate our national security strategy, our defense expenditures, and the current set of missions we ask the military to undertake and come up with a strategy that requires less funding and strengthens national security. I believe this review provides a framework to achieve that goal.

“Not only does the strategic review clearly articulate the threats we face, but it also shows that simply spending more money on defense does not necessarily makes us safer – spending more wisely and effectively does. Clearly, we do not have an endless amount of resources, and that should be taken into consideration, but it should not be the driving force behind our national security strategy. As demonstrated by the strategy laid out today, the Administration fully understands this fact.

“The Administration has put together a significant string of foreign policy successes, including the death of bin Laden, Anwar Al-Awlaki, the elimination of much of al Qaeda's leadership, the end of the war in Iraq, and supporting the uprising in Libya. Today's announcement lays out a strategy that will enable the United States to build on those successes and confront the threats of today as well as in the future, wherever they may emerge."

December31,2011

House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith released the following statement after the President signed the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act into law:

“I am pleased to see that the President signed this important piece of legislation into law. Overall, this bill prioritizes our troops deployed in Afghanistan, and around the world, by ensuring that they have the tools and resources they need to do their job and protect national security. It also provides our troops and their families with the benefits and support that they deserve, including a 1.6 percent pay increase.

“It continues to make counterterrorism a priority and makes significant investments in all branches of our Armed Services, ensuring that our military is prepared to meet the threats of today as well as in the future. It supports our troops as they continue to fight overseas, invests in new technologies for the future, and protects vital military equipment production capacity here at home.

“I share many of the President’s concerns with this bill, but I also feel confident that we made adequate adjustments to mitigate many of those concerns. Moving forward, I will continue to work to make sure that the President is not needlessly restricted in his ability to take steps to protect us from attacks while at the same time making sure that our basic civil rights are protected.

“In drafting the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, the House Armed Services Committee worked diligently to strengthen our support for the troops and their families, and to address some of the bills shortfalls. I believe we made progress, but more work remains to be done and I look forward to working with my colleagues as well as the Administration moving forward.”

December23,2011

Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement after the Department of Justice announced a $335 million settlement with Countrywide Financial Corporation for discriminatory lending practices:

“I'm pleased the Justice Department reached an agreement that will compensate thousands of African-American and Hispanic borrowers who were subjugated to Countrywide’s discriminatory policies, but I'm still deeply concerned that not enough people in the financial sector have been held accountable for their role in the sub prime mortgage crisis.

“The collapse of our housing market is widely accepted to be one of, if not the, key factor in our economic crisis and the actions of Countrywide and its subsidiaries who unfairly steered thousands of minority homeowners to purchase riskier subprime mortgages significantly increased its impact. Providing recompense to the victims of these unfair and unethical lending practices is a step forward in bringing the people who committed these crimes to justice but more action must be taken to prosecute those who allowed this type of predatory activity to occur.

“This year, Washington State had the 15th-highest foreclosure rate in the country and creating and enforcing the policies that prevent this from happening again is one of my highest priorities. I will continue to monitor these cases and make sure we do what is needed to protect individuals and their families from irresponsible business practices that jeopardize their quality of life and that compromise our country’s economic stability.”

December16,2011

Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09), made the following statement following House passage of the omnibus bill funding the federal government through FY 2012:

“Congress should be able to move forward in deciding how our nation will fund its priorities on schedule, without waiting until the last minute and continually risking a government shutdown. I’m glad that after almost three months of delays we were able to pass a bipartisan, long-term spending bill that eliminates uncertainty about federal employees’ jobs and the many important services Americans rely on the federal government to provide.

“While this bill funds the government through the remainder of fiscal year 2012, it is not perfect. We continue to face serious economic challenges and are required to make tough decisions that will help get our country back on track. However, this bill does ensure our military personnel have the resources needed to maintain national security and provides our agencies the funding needed to continue the functions that keep our country up and running.

“I hope in the new legislative year we’ll carry forward the bipartisan compromise we saw in crafting and passing this legislation and focus on addressing the many important challenges facing our nation.”